Top 2012 prospects invited to NHL’s research and development camp

Nail Yakupov of the Sarnia Sting, who was the OHL’s Rookie of the Year for the 2010-11 season, is one of 36 prospects for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft that have been invited to the NHL's research and development camp. PHOTO BY CHL IMAGES

Nearly 40 top prospects for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft will skate during the 2011 NHL Research, Development and Orientation Camp next month.

The National Hockey league will host the camp August 17-18 at the MasterCard Centre in Toronto, and 36 of the top-rated players for next year’s draft have accepted invitations to participate and will showcase their playing skills as the league puts the on-ice game under the microscope with a myriad of proposed new rules, rink markings and strategies.

Participating players were selected by NHL Central Scouting and rank high on the 2012 Futures Lists. The talented group of skaters and goaltenders from the Canadian Hockey League, United States Hockey League, United States colleges and Central Canada Hockey League (Junior A) will show off their playing skills to general managers and talent evaluators from around the league in a unique best-on-best setting that commences their draft-eligible seasons.

Dan Byslma, head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Dave Tippetthead coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, along with NHL Hockey Operations staff will lead the players over the course of two days as they test a number of proposed rules changes, rink markings and strategies.

The following players have confirmed their participation:

Goalies: Daniel Althsuller, Nepean (CCHL); Chris Driedger, Calgary (WHL); Collin Olson, U.S. Under-18 (USHL); Malcolm Subban, Belleville (OHL).

Defence: Cody Ceci, Ottawa (OHL); Gianluca Curcuruto, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL); Matthew Dumba, Red Deer (WHL); Nick Ebert, Windsor (OHL); Jeremie Fraser, Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL); Alex Gudbranson, Kingston (OHL); Michael Matheson, Dubuque (USHL); Ryan Murray, Everett (WHL); Derrick Pouliot, Portland (WHL); Morgan Rielly, Moose Jaw (WHL); Jordan Schmaltz, Sioux City (USHL); Jacob Trouba, U.S. Under-18 (USHL).

Centre: Andreas Athanasiou, London (OHL); Matthew Campagna, Sudbury (OHL); Cameron Darcy, U.S. Under-18 (USHL); Alex Galchenyuk, Sarnia (OHL); Brendan Gaunce, Belleville (OHL); Zemgus Girgensons, Dubuque (USHL); Scott Laughton, Oshawa (OHL); Jarrod Maidens, Owen Sound (OHL); Matia Marcantuoni, Kitchener (OHL); Daulton Siwak, Red Deer (WHL).

Left Wing: Francis Beauvillier, Rimouski (QMJHL); Raphael Bussieres, Baie-Comeau (QMJHL); Phillip Di Giuseppe, University of Michigan (CCHA); Nicolas Kerdiles, U.S. Under-18 (USHL); Andrew Ryan, Halifax (QMJHL); Chris Tierney, London (OHL).

Right Wing: Martin Frk, Halifax (QMJHL); Scott Kosmachuk, Guelph (OHL); Colton Sissons, Kelowna (WHL); Nail Yakupov, Sarnia (OHL).

“The National Hockey League is coming off another thrilling season that reinforced our view that our game is thriving on the ice,” Brendan Shanahan, NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety and Hockey Operations, said in a statement. “However, we remain committed to observing trends, studying our game regularly and testing new ideas to ensure it keeps getting better. The Research, Development & Orientation Camp provides a perfect environment to do those things while introducing many of our top prospects to pro hockey.”

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Gabriel Landeskog and Jonathan Huberdeau all sparkled at the inaugural NHL RDO Camp in August 2010 before becoming the top three selections in the 2011 NHL Draft last month.

“While our inaugural Research, Development and Orientation Camp was a great success, we expect to make this year’s event even better,” Shanahan said. “We again will assemble a remarkable percentage of the top talents eligible for the upcoming NHL Draft. And this year, we’re providing them with the guidance of two of our League’s outstanding current coaches, Dan Bylsma and Dave Tippett.”

A player’s presence certainly makes teams take note. Last season, for example, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Patrick Koudys received an invite, and the Washington Capitals, who drafted him last month 147^th overall, said they took note of him there.

“He played very well when they brought in the top prospects early in the year to Toronto when they were working on some of the rule changes,” Ross Mahoney, Caps director of amateur scouting, told Mike Vogel, a writer for the Caps at http://dumpnchase.com. “The NHL brought in (Ryan) Nugent-Hopkins and a lot of these top prospects, and Patrick was there for that and I thought he played well. We saw him in Tier II the year before; he had a good year there.”

The NHL says agendas detailing which rules will be tested in each individual scrimmage as well as players participating will be released at a later date.